


Interlude in a War

by ria_oaks



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Bath Sex, Bathing/Washing, F/M, Missing Scene, Porn Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 17:29:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1193607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ria_oaks/pseuds/ria_oaks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continuation of the bath scene from 3.05. After Jaime collapses, the guards don't come so Brienne takes care of him and washes him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interlude in a War

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Porn Battle XV for the prompts "bath", "dirty", and "first time". TV-verse, spoilers up to 3.05 (the scene in the book continues longer than the scene in the show, so it doesn't work in the book!). I loved the bath scene, but I couldn't help thinking after that Jaime was still covered in dirt when he collapsed - not a very effective bath! So naturally Brienne will need to wash him. :) Thanks to my betas for catching me out and not letting me get away with certain things that I knew I should change! 
> 
> The first couple of lines of dialogue are straight from the show, so I take no credit for those.

“By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?”

Brienne realized what was about to happen a split second before Jaime lurched forward. Her instincts kicked in and she reached out to catch him before he could slip under the water.

“We need help! The Kingslayer —” Her voice caught in her throat. There was no sound from outside, no sign that the guards were coming to them.

“Jaime…” His voice was rasping and so low she had to strain to hear him. “My name is Jaime.”

His head lolled back in her arms and his eyes slid shut. A year spent in chains had taken much of his body mass and she supported his weight easily, shifting him up to keep his ruined arm from becoming submerged. The fear that went through her at the thought of him dying was sudden and unexpected. She could not allow him to die, not after everything. Not after what she had learned today of the true story behind the Mad King’s death.

Jaime. Not the Kingslayer, not the Oathbreaker. Just a man who had done what he had to, to protect his city and his people. 

“Ser Jaime needs help!” she called out again, louder this time. Her voice echoed off the walls of the bathhouse and died away, leaving only silence. The ‘Ser’ had slipped in unbidden but it felt right. Whatever oaths he may have broken, his actions that day were that of a true knight.

“They will not come,” Jaime said softly. Brienne looked down at him. His eyes were open again and he seemed more alert. “There is no need, I will just sit for a while yet. If you would help me back to the ledge…” 

“You need medical treatment,” she insisted. Hearing Jaime say that he needed help of any sort, not least to move only a couple of feet back in the tub, was proof enough of that. “I will go find the guards and make them bring help. They cannot wish you to die or they would have let you die already.” 

“Bolton may not want me dead. I’m too valuable a hostage and he knows it. But the rest of the men would just as soon see me drown in this tub rather than lift a finger to help me.” 

Brienne could not deny the truth in his words. She had seen the loathing in the eyes of the men at Harrenhal. They were not so open in their hatred or abuse as the men who had captured them, but she didn’t doubt that any one of them would be more than happy to remove Jaime’s remaining hand. 

She maneuvered him carefully back to the ledge that ran around the inside of the tub. Jaime was still weak, almost dead weight in Brienne’s arms, but the water’s buoyancy helped her carry him back. She deposited him on the seat, ensuring that his right arm was arranged along the top edge of the tub to keep it from falling into the water. His head rested back on the lip of the tub and he closed his eyes again. 

She stared down at him for a moment. His face was still caked in dirt and blood, and other even less pleasant substances. He made no move to clean himself. He seemed to have exerted all of his energy and now he just lay slumped against the side of the tub.

Brienne retreated to her corner of the tub and sank back into the water. Jaime didn’t stir. She could see the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest but he seemed to be nearly asleep. She would watch him to ensure that he didn’t slide into the water again, she decided. Falling asleep in the bath and drowning would hardly be a dignified end for the man. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jaime dozed lightly and Brienne watched him, letting her body gradually relax back into the steaming water. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the scrubbing brush she had used earlier. A bar of rough soap was sitting nearby — a comfort she had not enjoyed for many weeks now. Though not as long as Jaime, she supposed. The grime of the past months had seeped into his skin and mere water was not much use against it. 

She wasn’t sure what compelled her to do it. Perhaps it was the newfound understanding between them, the tentative beginnings of trust. Perhaps she could no longer bear to see this once noble man brought so low. Or maybe she was just sick of the smell. 

Brienne picked up the soap and the brush and stood up. She walked slowly towards Jaime but he did not stir or open his eyes. She did not care if he saw her nakedness anyway. He could have looked his fill earlier but he hadn't seemed particularly interested. They were beyond false modesties now, in any case. 

She knelt beside him on the ledge, the water brushing up under her breasts. She dampened the brush and ran the soap over the bristles, working up a light lather. Jaime’s eyes stayed closed, but she could tell he was awake and aware of her presence next to him. That was good. Even in his weakened state, if she took him by surprise she had no doubt he would lash out on instinct and end up injuring himself further.

She started with his face. Gently, she passed the brush over his cheeks and worked the soap into his matted beard. With her other hand, she scooped up some water and rinsed him off, watching the dirt and blood run down his neck into the bathtub. It took more soap and a few rinses to get it all off, but eventually his beard was soft again and she could see the colour of his skin that had been almost hidden by dirt the last few days.

They didn’t say anything. Jaime kept his eyes tightly closed as Brienne maneuvered him wordlessly to turn sideways on the seat and tip his head back. She began lathering soap into his hair, running her fingers carefully through the tangles and behind his ears and then leaning him backwards into the water. With one hand she supported him, and with the other she combed the dirt and soap out of his hair. The water in the tub between them was dark by the time she had the worst of it out, but at last she could see the gold in his hair again.

Absently, Brienne continued to brush through his hair, enjoying the feeling of the soft strands between her fingers. It took her several moments before she realized that his eyes had opened and he was staring up at her. She flushed, but he didn’t say anything. She couldn’t read his expression. His eyes were guarded, but he didn’t seem upset and she let herself relax again. It felt strange, to be this comfortable in his presence and in such a situation, but in a way she was enjoying herself.

After a few more minutes, she moved him back around to lean against the side of the tub. Jaime’s eyes remained open now, and they tracked Brienne’s movements as she took up the brush and soap bar again. She worked quickly and efficiently, moving the brush over Jaime’s neck and shoulder then splashing water up to rinse him off. She didn’t let herself think too hard on what she was doing. She had never been so close to a man before, certainly never touched one so intimately as this. This was hardly proper behaviour for a lady, or so she had been taught. And she was after all still a maiden, though she did not often think of herself that way. And now she could feel his eyes on her, seeing her nakedness as she touched his bare skin. It made her shiver, though she did not quite know why.

Brienne moved further down, working the brush over Jaime’s pectorals and cleaning the dirt from the hair on his chest. Her finger brushed accidentally against his nipple and he sucked in a sharp breath. She froze. Her hands hovered uncertainly between them, unsure if she should continue. His nipples were tight and red now, where before they had been soft, and she was surprised to realize that hers had tightened as well. She swallowed. Jaime didn’t move, but she could see his chest rising and falling faster than it had been before.

Deciding to take a safer course, Brienne moved to his left arm. She kept her movements impersonal and clinical now, lifting his hand to scrub between his fingers and then letting it drop back into the water. When she was finished, she hesitated and looked at his right arm where it was stretched out along the back of the tub.

“Go ahead.”

They were the first words he had spoken in nearly ten minutes. Brienne was so startled she dropped the brush into the water, and had to quickly grab it back up. Jaime’s eyes regarded her and he gave a small nod.

Slowly, mindful of the pain he was no doubt still feeling, Brienne ran the brush down his arm to just above where the bandage began. Obligingly, Jaime lifted his arm and she cleaned the underside of it as well. She cupped some water in her hands and poured it carefully over him, making sure to avoid getting the bandage any wetter than it already was. She avoided looking at the stump as much as she could. She could see from the corner of her eye that it was red and swollen with infection, but it seemed a little better than it had in recent days. She knew he had been treated and given some medicine when they arrived at Harrenhal, which must have begun to help.

Arms done, Brienne was faced with the prospect of finishing his torso. She glanced up and met Jaime’s eyes. He looked impassive, but his eyes were dilated and his mouth had fallen slightly open. Her hands shook minutely and she didn’t take her eyes off his as she lathered up the brush again and began working it in circles over his chest. There was no mistaking the hitch in his breath this time, or the way his body jerked at her touch.

Her hands moved farther down, under the water line to his stomach. She continued to hold his gaze, working her way by feel to his hips and around to his back. They were very close now. Her fingers brushed lightly over the cleft of his buttocks and he let out a groan. Brienne couldn’t help herself. She glanced down for the first time since they had begun this, allowing herself to look where she had studiously been avoiding.

His manhood stood out thick and hard from the curls between his legs. Brienne had seen men naked before in camp, but only when they had been cleaning or relieving themselves. Never had she been so close to a man or seen one aroused as Jaime was now.

Brienne felt a tightness growing between her own legs. She had only ever felt this way in the privacy of her own tent, when her thoughts had turned to Renly. She had known it was shameful to think of her king in such a way, the king that she had sworn to serve and protect. But late at night she would imagine his arms around her and his mouth upon her breast, and she would work her fingers between her legs until the pressure became too much and she would finish with his name silent on her lips.

Now when she pictured Renly, all she could see was the shadow’s sword piercing his chest, and in her breast was an empty ache. It had been many weeks since she had last brought relief to herself, or indeed since she had felt any need to do so.

“Look at me, Brienne.”

It was the sound of her name on his lips more than anything that made her look up. His face was flushed red, whether from the heat of the bath, his arousal, or embarrassment she could not say. She doubted it was embarrassment, though. Not Jaime Lannister, who had lain with women many times in the past. Or, if the rumours were true, with one woman in particular. Brienne did not know if they were true or not, but she found she did not much care if they were. She could not presume to know or understand everything of this man’s past or feelings, as she had learned tonight. It was not her place to censure or judge him in this. 

“You should not feel obligated. This—” He waved vaguely downwards. “—is simply a physical reaction. Do not take it as anything more than that.”

That stung a bit. “And what if I wish to?” It was bold, bolder than she had expected of herself. But it was true. She had never desired a man other than Renly, and even that was a distant sort of longing. She had known that nothing would ever come of her feelings there, and had never thought she would find herself in this position. Certainly not with Jaime Lannister.

Her response seemed to take Jaime by surprise. His eyes widened and then narrowed. He wrapped his left arm around her and drew her closer until she was kneeling over him on the ledge. She braced a hand on his shoulder and leaned her head down until their foreheads were nearly touching.

“Do you?” His voice was rough and she could feel his breath on her lips. “Could you truly desire this broken body?”

“If you can desire this ugly maiden,” she whispered back. 

Jaime’s arm tightened around her.

“Do not call yourself that,” he growled, and then his lips were pressing against hers. She swallowed back the urge to snap back that he had called her just that and worse many times in the past weeks, and instead kissed him back.

Jaime kissed like he did everything else: intense, thorough, and passionate. He was also surprisingly gentle. His lips moved slowly against hers, letting her set the pace and not pushing her to deepen the kiss. Brienne growled against his lips. She was tired of gentle, and she knew now that she wanted this. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and ran a hand down his chest. 

Her kiss was clumsy for lack of experience, she knew. Their teeth clashed and his nose bumped against hers, but it didn’t matter. Eventually they settled into a rhythm, and then it was just the feeling of his lips sliding over hers, his tongue exploring her mouth. She ran a thumb over his nipple then pinched it lightly between two fingers. He groaned loudly and pulled his mouth off of hers, then began planting kisses along her jaw. Brienne arched her back, baring her neck to him. Jaime’s lips were hot as they trailed down her neck, nipping at the skin with his teeth and soothing over it with his tongue.

Brienne shivered with anticipation as his head ducked lower. She rose up farther on her knees to lessen the distance between them, and then Jaime’s lips were on her breast. His tongue circled her nipple and she cried out, grasping at his shoulder as he teased her. Jaime’s hand left her back and he cupped her other breast, rolling his fingers over her nipple. She knew her breasts were small, hardly a handful for him, but he didn’t seem to care. Brienne gave herself over to the pleasure, caught between the sensation of his mouth on one nipple and his fingers on the other. She was more aroused than she had been in her life. Her own explorations of her body had been hesitant at first, then quick and routine once she had learned how to bring herself to completion. She had never taken the time to enjoy it, or to learn different ways to give herself pleasure. 

This was different. She wasn’t alone in her tent; she was pressed up against the heat of Jaime’s body. The steam from the bath rose up around them and Jaime’s mouth was hot against her skin. Between her legs Brienne could feel the slickness of her arousal, the increasingly desperate need to be touched. She was practically in Jaime’s lap now, and she could feel him pressing hard against her. The thought of him inside of her made her shudder. She had heard that it was painful the first time, but she didn’t care. She had felt pain before and she wasn’t scared.

Jaime’s hand ran down her stomach and disappeared beneath the water. Brienne sucked in a breath as his fingers brushed over the curls between her legs, then went lower and finally touched her. She gasped out his name, and he took pity on her and didn’t tease. He stroked her firmly, rubbing his fingers over her again and again until she was grinding herself desperately against his hand. His mouth found hers again and his tongue was between her lips as he dipped a finger into her, pressing first one and then two fingers into her body. It didn’t take long. The knowledge that another person was touching her for the first time was too much, and then he was crooking his fingers inside her and she came with a loud cry against his mouth.

Jaime barely allowed her time to catch her breath before his fingers were gone and he was inside her. Brienne gritted her teeth expecting pain, but the discomfort was mild and quickly replaced by the sensation of being filled. She dimly remembered hearing rumours of girls who had lost their maidenheads from horseback riding and other such activities, and she supposed that must have been what happened to her. 

Brienne gripped at Jaime’s shoulders and held herself up as he moved into her again and again. His face was buried in her neck and his left arm had circled around her back again to hold her tight to him. She helped as best she could, her thighs straining as she pushed down to meet his thrusts. The pleasure was different from before. The edge was gone, but her senses felt heightened and warmth was spreading through her body. She closed her eyes and threaded her fingers through his hair. 

The bathhouse was silent other than the sounds of their bodies moving together, and the gentle splash of water lapping up over the edge of the tub. Jaime’s movements grew more frantic, and his hips jerked up as he drove himself into her. Brienne doubted he would last much longer, and she could feel herself getting close again. She reached down with one hand to feel the place where they were joined, and then she began working her fingers against herself. The water had washed away most of her slickness, but she was so sensitive that soon she felt herself clenching around Jaime and she writhed against him as she came again. He wasn’t far behind, and with a final thrust he spilled himself into her.

They didn’t move for a few minutes. Brienne could feel Jaime softening within her, but he didn’t pull out. His breath ghosted over her neck and she briefly laid her head on top of his. It felt almost more intimate than the sex itself, to sit like this together without speaking. Brienne knew it couldn’t last, that this was just a temporary moment of shared pleasure and solace in the midst of the pain and war that surrounded them. Jaime would return to King’s Landing and his sister. Brienne… well, she wasn’t sure yet. But she knew this would not happen again, that there could never be any kind of future with this man even if she wanted it. 

Eventually Jaime shifted and slipped out of her, leaving her feeling strangely empty. She lifted her head off of his and he raised his eyes to meet hers. Then he smiled, the first time she had ever seen him smile without a hint of mocking behind it. He reached up to brush some hair out of her eyes and she stayed still, staring at him as he leaned forward and kissed her lightly. 

Unexpected hope rose up within Brienne. She didn’t know what she wanted from this man, or what was going to happen next. But they were in this together now, for better or for worse. For now, she would enjoy the companionship and try not to worry, at least for a few minute, about what the next days would hold.


End file.
